Fox chief defends 'New Girl', 'Raising Hope' hiatus

The likes of New Girl and Raising Hope will not return until November, making way for Major League Baseball games.

"I'd prefer not to do it, but I feel we have shows that viewers will come back for," Reilly told Entertainment Weekly.

"We could have peppered New Girl and Raising Hope around the schedule. [But] it felt like ultimately we didn't want to knock them down by getting them lesser ratings in other time periods."

He added: "It's easier to say, 'It's off for three weeks and then we're on [non-stop] for the rest of the year'."

Reilly also suggested that fan complaints about the hiatus prove that both shows are a success for Fox.

"We could be sitting here trying to figure out how to get to the press and fan the flames and make people care," he said. "Other people are going to be moving around in repeats later in the year, and we're going to be on straight through [with new episodes]."